(The Gist of Science Reporter) Vanishing Geo Heritage site – Bhojunda Stromatolite Park [APRIL-2019]

Vanishing Geo Heritage site – Bhojunda Stromatolite Park

CHITTAURGARH in the state of Rajasthan is located on the banks of rivers Gambhiri and Bedach (a tributary of Bananas), At the foothills of this UNESCO World Heritage site is Chittaurgarh town, and on the eastern periphery of which there is yet another Heritage site - a Geo Heritage site near the village Bhojunda. This site is a Stromatolite Park, which was declared a National Geological Monument in the year 1976 by the Geological Survey of India.
Stromatolites are bio chemical forms of rocks occurring in different shapes akin to the sedimentary rocks that can be found in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by
biofilms of microorganisms. These provide fascinating evidence of the emergence and evolution of life on the Earth. A small piece of Stromatolite encodes
biological activity spanning thousands of years. So much so [what they can be termed as Earth’s oldest fossils dating back to 3.5 billion years.
The Bhojunda Stromatolite Park is an exposure within the massive Bhagwanpura Limestone of Lower Vindhyan age.
In Indian geology, the Vindhyan Formations ( ~900 Mya) were vigorously but unsuccessfully searched for life (natural heritage,intach.org, 2016). However, the discovery of these life forms in still older rocks provided indisputable proof that life existed in these Precambrian rocks of Rajasthan.